Authors: Donna Flynn
S
he pulled back and stared at him with worry
. “Y
ou’re
sure you are
alright?”
she asked.
He nodde
d and she
turned
to Lucan. “How did I get sick?”
“
The
bullet
contained
a
poison.
” He didn’t bother telling what, that would open a can of worms he wasn’t sure she was ready to hear.
“
When you healed Alec
,
some
got into your system
.
Fortunately
,
Kirk’s sister posses
gifts like yours and
she was able to get it out
.”
“
Wa
s I dying?” Alec’
s arm tig
htened around her and she peered
into his haunted eyes
shivering at the fear she saw there
.
“You could have
,
but she worked a miracle
,
much like you did with Alec
,
”
he explained
with a reassuring smile
.
“Kirk came
here?”
she asked noting Alec tensing
beside her
.
“He came to make sure you were
alright
since he had not heard from you
in a few days
,
but
when he found out
what
had happened he called his sister,
”
Lucan explained
.
“Great,
”
s
he murmured unhappily.
Now not only her family found out
about her healing
,
but
also the guy she dated
. Of
course,
he had someone in his fa
mily with
the same g
ift, so he would probably be more understanding
.
“He will be by later to visit,” Cade said
. “Lucan gave him permission
to come
.”
“You
did?” she couldn’t help being
stunned
,
but recovered quickly
and hugged him
missing the
disgust on Alec’s face
. “
Thank you, now you will
get to
find out how great
he is.”
“I need to go
,
” A
lec said rising from his
chair
.
Her excitement about
seeing Kirk was
,
to say the least
,
upsetting
.
He might have
saved her life
and earned the right to visit her,
b
ut he did not have t
o witness her joy at the thought of seeing him again
.
“Yes we n
eed to get settle
d nex
t door,
” Gregory
said
s
ensing his
son’s
unhappiness
. “We will come by
later
and check on you again
.”
They walked out
together leaving
Me
rc
y staring after them uncertain why they had left so abruptly
.
“Gregory has much to do n
ow that you and Alec are better,
” Lucan said
trying to cover up their speedy departure.
“Well I guess I oug
ht to get a shower if
Kirk is coming later
.” She
walked to the door
, but
remembered somethin
g that made her pause and turn
around t
o face her brothers. “Funny I had dream
a wolf
was
in the gu
est room next to me last night
.” They both stared at her blankly
. “I suppose when you’re that sick
all sorts of crazy things
come to you.” She laughed and
wal
ked out leaving both men staring after her
with varying degrees of worry
.
*****
Mercy
opened
the front
door
hours later
to find Kirk
waiting
,
his arms fu
ll of r
oses as he smiled
at her
.
“You’re up and around already?” he asked handing her the flowers
and
kissing her gently
.
“Yeah,
thanks to you.”
She
took
his hand, pulling
him
towards the kitchen so she could place the beautiful flowers in water.
“My sister saved
you
, not me,” he
told her
taking a seat at the table as she got out a vase and filled it with water, then carefully arranged the flowers inside of the container
.
“You
called
her
,
so I owe you my thanks too
,” s
he told him
as she placed
the flowers in the middle.
“I’m
glad you
’
r
e
okay
,
I
worried about yo
u all night,” h
e
said,
pulling
her down on his lap
.
Mercy went willing
enjoyi
ng the gentle, considerate kiss he gave her,
but in the back of
her mind,
she compared
it
to the kiss she a
nd Alec shared so recent
ly.
Kirk
s hand moved up her back, pulling her
closer as if
aware
her
thoughts had wandere
d, and immediately she felt guilty.
With a sigh
,
she leaned into
him giving him her full attention
aggravated that even when he wasn’t there Alec could effect her
.
T
he front door close
d with a
loud
slam and
Kirk
let her go
reluctatnly.
S
he
scrambled to another
chair,
flushed and guilty
as
Cad
e came through the kitchen door
whistling
.
Cade
was well
aware
he caught
them in the midst of maki
ng out
,
but only offered
a quick
hello as he
got a drink from the refrigerator
,
before turning to face them
trying not to laugh at
the guilt
on their faces
.
“So what are you two up to
?” He took a long sip
of his drink
and watche
d a
s his sis
t
er turned
a pretty shade of pink
.
“Nothing,
”
s
he managed to answer
blushing furiously
.
“It’s beautiful
outside you should
be
out on the porch
.” He to
ok another long sip
of his tea
looking
thoughtful
.
“Of course Lucan will be
working in his office
all day,
so I
suppose you sh
ould stay here where
he can keep an ear on you.” He
laid the glass in the sink and
walked to the door. “Have a good time
whatever you do
.”
He
was confident
someday Alec and Mercy would end up together
,
but in the
meantime,
he thought she should enjoy dating and learn how to use her feminine wills
a little
.
It certainly couldn’t hurt for her to know how to sway a man to her way of thinking, after
all her mate was a future pack leader
and
Alpha
s were notoriously stubborn.
“Would you like to go outside?” Kirk asked
. She nodded and he took her hand pulling her up from the chair,
willing to do anything she wanted if it meant spending time with her.
“Hey do you think I could meet your sister sometime?”
s
he asked
as they walked outside
.
“
She was fascinated another healer
was in the area
and can’t wait to meet you
. F
or now
though
let’s talk about where I am going to take you on our first real date.”
They
sat on the porch swing, making plans
to go to the movies after her punishment was over, then talked about school and
their mutual friends
.
C
onversation
flowed
easily
between them
and they laughed often at each other’s stories
enjoying their time together
.
It was friendly and unstrained until h
e asked about her pare
nts
. S
he told him about their deaths with tears in her eyes
,
which he wiped away be
fore pulling her onto his lap and wrapping her in his arms
.
“I’
m sorry. I
t must have been devastating for you
.” He laid his head against hers
as he pushed th
e
swing
offering her comfort until
she was able to talk again of
happier subjects
.
Mercy was at ease and having a good time as they chatted throughout the afternoon
.
Kirk wa
s easy going and
he seemed to care about everything she said
,
but in the back of her mind
,
thoughts of Ale
c lingered
.
She cautioned herself not to go there and refocused her attentions on Kirk, but sti
ll she found herself continually drifting back to thoughts of Alec
.
T
he hour grew late and the sun began
to set
as they
sat together,
his arms around her as he
r
head rested against his
chest.
Sh
e moved
to tell him she had to get ready for
dinner and
he
kissed
her again
. His lips brushed
hers so
ftly and she sighed twining
her arms around his neck
hoping
to feel the same fire and
excitement
she did when Alec kissed her
, but found that although pleasant they did not compare
.
Kirks kiss
was
warm, gentle and
pleasant, but Alec’s
kiss left her breathless a
nd so consumed wit
h desire she forgot about everything but him
.
Embarrassed by her shameful wonderings
she pu
lled back chastising herself mentally.
Kirk genuinely liked her
. He was a
good guy,
serious in his intentions,
and most assuredly
the one she need to fall in love with.
She couldn’t understand then why she kept comparing them
.